Time Sensitive

Dear Moxie Maven

Is there anyone that I can pay to do this social media thing? I’m just so busy I can’t even imagine even adding the 15 minutes a day that you talk about. Not to mention the time it would take to learn everything!

Time Sensitive

Dear Time Sensitive,

Time…

Even the thought of time can be overwhelming, especially when you feel a shortage as it is. A very good friend of mine forwarded an article this week from a very well known paper, which touched on this very subject.

Social media is a critter that jumps all around your company dabbling in marketing, sales, and customer service. Quite simply, if social media is implemented correctly, it can have a substantial impact on how you run your business.

With that said, social media is a lot like your accounting, you can outsource it. But should you?

It gets a little muddy here, so hang on with me as we explore this topic.

The first thing you need to consider is what you are wanting social media for. Is it brand awareness? Are you looking to have your voice heard when people are talking about your brand? Do you want to provide another avenue for your customers to touch base with you?

Once you have those questions answered, the next question is the most important of them all…

Who knows your business the best?

When you consider hiring your social media out you are putting it in the hands of someone that does not know your business like you do. There is also the problem of complaints, bad reviews, etc. How much will you trust someone else to speak on the behalf of your company? Would you draw lines and require them to get a hold of you each time there is a potential crisis? In turn causing time delays in responding to a situation that is very time sensitive. Not to mention defeating the purpose of outsourcing it.

Social media is one of those things that you may dip a toe in, but unless you follow up with jumping fully into the pool, it has little benefit for your business.

I talk to marketing professionals everyday that agree, if you decide to wait and see what will happen with social media three years down the road might be too late.

It isn’t doom and gloom. What this does mean is that the next three years are really a time to explore, experiment, learn & have a presence online outside of your website.

There are a lot of businesses online that are exploring the social media world together and learning from each other. A lot of questions are being asked and strategies are being tried. Three years from now a lot of these questions will be answered.

I know, you think that means that if you wait for three years you will have all the answers you need, and that is when you will get to it. Well, that is an option; however, we have to get back to the customers.

Say you are a bank, and your competitor is online right now; they are wooing your customers, creating personal connections with them. Where are you? In that three year time span how many customers do you think a personal relationship will cost you?

With that said, if you absolutely cannot find fifteen minutes a day, then I would highly encourage you to hire out your social media tasks. You would have a presence. You would be creating those personal connections. Above all, you would be moving forward, and that is much better than not moving at all.

Published on October 5, 2009 in the Grand Junction Free Press